The weakest link in most security schemes is the human. We know that there are regular breaches of trust by employees, mistakes made (fat fingers, misconfigurations and more), and supposed favors done by someone with trusted access that send data to criminals. Social engineering, in a variety of forms, preys on the trusting nature of most people to gain unauthorized access, and unfortunately, it often works.

Part of social engineering is the inherent trust for others that most of us have. Part of it is the desire that most people have to help others. However I think a part of it is also the attitude that many workers have when they aren't treated well. When employees don't feel they are a part of the company family and just work for a paycheck, they are less vigilant or caring about safeguarding the digital assets, and sometimes physical assets, of the company.

Read the rest of "Pride and Security" at SQLServerCentral.